The Perfect Place for a Park
A former treatment plant finds new life where two culturally significant rivers meet in
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Project Summary
Community: Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Technical Assistance: Site Design
Former Use: Wastewater Treatment Plant
Future Use: Riverfront Park
Known for its natural beauty, the city of Glenwood Springs
hopes to continue its strong history of preserving its
resources by revitalizing a former wastewater treatment
plant that is centrally located at the confluence of the
Roaring Fork and Colorado rivers.
Under a 2017 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant, the city developed
a plan to convert the former wastewater treatment plant
into a riverfront community park. The key objectives of the
plan were to enhance connectivity to the Roaring Fork
River, prioritize the needs of pedestrians, and create
interactive community spaces. Brownfields redevelopment
in the overall confluence area is envisioned as infill
development that will extend the city's downtown to the
river, celebrate the area's natural surroundings, and create
a mixed-use neighborhood that is compatible with
surrounding architecture.
The Community's Challenge
While the Area-Wide Plan set the groundwork for
brownfields redevelopment of the riverfront park, the city
needed additional site design details, including
community-desired amenities, in order to secure funding
and begin work on the project.
EPA's Land Revitalization Technical Assistance
In 2019, EPA's Land Revitalization program provided
contractor technical assistance to prepare conceptual
designs of the signature riverfront park along the Roaring
Fork River. To do this, the team held workshops with city
leaders, key stakeholders, and community members to
inform the design process. Realizing the potential of the
site, a Riverfront Park Plan was prepared based on the
city's and community's vision to link the historic downtown
core to the river and provide an interactive destination
focused on passive recreation, social interaction,
reflection, utilizing green infrastructure to manage
stormwater, and caring for the city's natural resources.
The Riverfront Park Plan included an Essential Elements
Plan and a Community Upgrades and Amenities Plan.
With the Riverfront Park Plan in hand, the city has a solid
reference to both the foundational framework necessary
for the brownfields in the confluence area to be a publicly
accessible space, as well as amenities that significantly
enhance the full potential of the waterfront.
Confluence Riverfront Park Essential Elements Plan
For more information, contact Ted Lanzano, EPA Region
8 Brownfields Program, at lanzano.ted@epa.gov or
Stacey Eriksen at eriksen.stacev@epa.gov.
s>EPA
United States	Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
Environmental Protection
Agency	EPA Pub # 560-F-19-005-P

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